"About four days before the robbery, I was introduced to Rachel
Rokesby, daughter of one of the partners in the Black Prince. I met her,
in what seemed to be a casual way, at Mother Cameron's hash-foundry, but
I found out, a long time afterward, that she had worked for two weeks to
bring about the introduction.

"I don't know as you remember seeing her, but she was a quiet, retiring,
well-educated, rosy-cheeked English girl--impressed you right away as
being the pure, unrefined article, about twenty-two karat. She "chinned"
me about an hour, that evening, and just cut a cameo of her pretty face
right on my old heart.

"Well, course I saw her home, and tried my best to be interesting, but
if a fellow ever in his natural life becomes a double-barreled jackass,
it's just immediately after he falls in love. Why, he ain't as
interesting as the unlettered side of an ore-sack.

"But we got on amazing well; the girl did most of the talking and along
toward the last, mentioned that she was in great trouble--of course I
wa'n't interested in that at all. I liked to have broken my neck in
getting her to tell me at once if I couldn't do something to help her,
say, for instance, move Raton mountain up agin Pike's Peak.

"I went home that night, promising to call on her the next trip, not to
let any one know I was coming, not to tell anybody I had been there, not
for _worlds_ to repeat or intimate what she told me, and she would tell
me her trouble from start to finish, and then I could help her, if I
wanted to. Well, I wanted to, _bad_.

"I went up to the Rokesby's cabin, next trip in; it was dark, and as I
went up the front walk, I heard the old gentleman going out the back,
bound for the village 'diggin's.' I had it all to myself--the secret, I
mean.

"When I went in, I got about a forty-second squeeze of a neat little
hand, and things did look so nice and clean and homelike that I had it
on the end of my tongue to ask right then to camp in the place.

"After a few commonplaces, she turned around and asked me if I still
wanted to help her and would keep the secret, if I concluded in the end
to keep out of her troubles. You bet your life, old man, she didn't have
to wait long for assurance--why I wouldn't'a waited a minute to have
contracted to turn the Mississippi into the Mammoth Cave, if she had
asked it.

"'Well," says she, finally, "it is not generally known, in fact, isn't
known at all, that the Black Prince is a paying placer, and that papa
and Mr. Sanson have been taking out lots of gold for some time. They
have over fifty pounds of gold-dust and nuggets hidden under the floor
of the old mill.'

"'Well,' says I, 'that hadn't ought to worry you so.'

"'But that isn't all the story,' she continued; 'we have discovered a
plot on the part of Mr. Sanson to rob papa of the gold and burn the mill
and sluice-boxes, to hide the crime. You will find that every tough in
town is his friend, because he buys whisky for them, and they all
dislike papa. If he carried out his plan, we would have no redress
whatever; all the justices in town can be bribed. The plan is to take
the gold, burn the mill, and then accuse papa of the crime. Now, can't
you help me to fool that old villain of a Sanson, and put papa's half of
the money in a safe place?'

"I thought quite a while before I answered; it seemed strange to me that
the case should be as she stated, and I half feared I might be made a
cat's-paw and get into trouble, but the girl looked at me so trustingly
with her blue eyes and added:

"'I am afraid that I am the cause of all the trouble, too. Papa and
Sanson got along well until I refused to marry him; after that, the row
began--I hate him. He said I would _have_ to marry him before he was
done with me--but I won't!'

"'You bet you won't, darling,' says I, before I thought. 'Pardon me,
Miss Rokesby, but if there is any marrying done around here, I want a
hand in the game myself.'

"She blushed deeply, looked at the toe of her shoe a minute, and said:

"'I'm only eighteen, and am too young to think of marrying. Suppose we
don't talk of that until we get out of the present difficulties.'

"'Sensible idea,' says I. 'But when we are out, suppose you and I have a
talk on that subject.'

"She looked at the toe of her shoe for a minute again, turned red and
white around the gills, looked up at me, shyly at first, then fully and
fairly, stretched out her hand and said:

"'Yes; if you care to.'

"Course, I didn't _care_, or nothing--no more than a man cares for his
head.

"I guess that was about a half engagement, anyhow, it's the only one we
ever had. She said it would be ruinous to our plans if I was seen with
her then or afterward; and agreed to leave a note at the house for me by
next trip, telling me her plan--which she should talk over with her
father.

"A couple of days later I got in from a round trip and made a dive for
the boarding-house.

"'Any mail for me, mother?' I asked old Mrs. Cameron.

"'No, young man; I'm sorry to say there ain't'

"'I was anxious to hear from home.'

"'Too bad; but maybe it'll come to-morrow.'

"I was up to fever heat, but could do nothing but wait. I went to bed
late, and, raising up my pillow to put my watch under it, I found a
note; it read:

"'Midnight, July 17.

"'DEAR JOE:

"'Just thought of that rule for changing counter-balance you
wanted. There has always been a miscalculation about the weight of
counter-balance; they are universally _too heavy_. The weights are
in pieces; take out two _pieces_; this treatment would even improve
a mule sweep. When once out, pieces should be changed or placed
where careless or malicious persons cannot get hold of them and
replace them. All is well; hope you are the same; will see you some
time soon.

"'JACK.'

"Here was apparently a fool letter from one young railroader to another,
but I knew well enough that it was from Rachel and meant something.

"I noticed that it was dated the _next night_; then I commenced to see,
and in a few minutes my instructions were plain. The old five-stamp mill
was driven by a mule, who wandered aimlessly around a never-ending
circle at the end of a long, wooden sweep; this pole extended past the
post of the mill a few feet, and had on the short end a box of stones as
a counter-weight. I would find two packages of gold there at midnight of
July 17.

"I was running one of those old Pittsburgh hogs then, and she had to
have her throttle ground the next day, but it was more than likely that
she would be ready to go out at 8:30 on her turn; but I arranged to have
it happen that the stand-pipe yoke should be broken in putting it up, so
that another engine would have to be fired up, and I would lay in.

"I told stories in the roundhouse until nearly ten o'clock that fateful
night, and then started for the hash-foundry, dodged into a lumber
yard, got onto the rough ground back of town and made a wide detour
toward Constitution Gulch, the Black Prince and the mule-sweep. I crept
up to the washed ground through some brush and laid down in a path to
wait for midnight. I felt a full-fledged sneak-thief, but I thought of
Rachel and didn't care if I was one or not, so long as she was
satisfied.

"I looked often at my watch in the moonlight, and at twelve o'clock
everything was as still as death. I could hear my own heart beat against
my ribs as I sneaked up to that counter-balanced sweep. I got there
without accident or incident, found two packages done up in canvas with
tarred-string handles; they were heavy but small, and in ten minutes I
had them alone with me among the stumps and stones on the little _mesa_
back of town.

"I'll never forget how I felt there in the dark with all that money that
wasn't mine, and if some one had have said 'boo' from behind a stump, I
should have probably dropped the boodle and taken to the brush.

"As I approached the town, I realized that I could never get through it
to the boarding-house or the roundhouse with those two bundles that
_looked like country sausages_. I studied awhile on it and finally put
them under an old scraper beside the road, and went without them to the
shops. I got from my seat-box a clean pair of overalls and jacket and
came back without being seen.

"I wrapped one of the packages up in these and boldly stepped out into
the glare of the electric lights--I remember I thought the town too
darned enterprising.

"One of the first men I met was the marshal, Jack Kelly. He was reported
to be a Pinkerton man, and was mistrusted by some of the men, but tried
to be friendly and 'stand in' with all of us. He slapped me on the back
and nearly scared the wits out of me. He insisted on treating me, and I
went into a saloon and 'took something' with him, in fear and trembling.
The package was heavy, but I must carry it lightly under my arm, as if
it were only overclothes.

"I treated in return, and had it charged, because I dare not attempt to
get my right hand into my pocket. Jack was disposed to talk, and I
feared he was just playing with me like a cat does with a mouse, but I
finally got off and deposited my precious burden in my seat-box, under
lock and key--then I sneaked back for the second haul. I met Jack and a
policeman, on my next trip, and he exclaimed:

"'Why, ain't you gone out yet?' and started off, telling the roundsman
to keep the bunkos off me up to the shop. _I thought then I was caught_,
but I was not, and the bluecoat bid me a pleasant good-night, at the
shop yard.

"When I got near my engine, I was surprised to see Barney Murry, the
night machinist, with his torch up on the cab--he was putting in the
newly-ground throttle.

"Just before I had decided to emerge from the shadow of the next engine,
Barney commenced to yell for his helper, Dick, to come and help him on
with the dome-cover.

"Dick came with a sandwich in one hand and a can of coffee in the other.
This reminded Barney of his lunch, and setting his torch down on the
top of the cab, he scrambled down on the other side and hurried off to
the sand-dryer, where the gang used to eat their dyspepsia insurance and
swap lies.

"After listening a moment, to be sure I was alone, I stepped lightly to
the cab, and in a minute the two heavy and dangerous packages were side
by side again.

"But just here an inspiration struck me. I opened the front door of the
cab, stepped out on the running-board, and a second later was holding
Barney's smoking torch down in the dome.

"The throttle occupied most of the space, but there was considerable
room each side of it and a good two feet between the top of the boiler
shell and the top row of flues. I took one of the bags of gold, held it
down at arm's length, swung it backward and forward a time or two, and
let go, so as to drop it well ahead on the flues: the second bag
followed at once, and again I held down the light to see if the bags
were out of sight; satisfied on this point, I got down, took my clothes
under my arm, and jumped off the engine into the arms of the night
foreman."

"'What did you call me for? That engine is not ready to go out on the
extra,' I demanded, off-hand.

"'I ain't called you; you're dreaming.'

"'May be I am,' said I, 'but I would 'a swore some one came and called
under my window that I got out at 2:10, on a stock-train, extra.'

"Just then, Barney and Dick came back, and I soon had the satisfaction
of seeing the cover screwed down on my secret and a fire built under
it--then I went home and slept.

"I guess it was four round trips that I made with the old pelter, before
Kelly put this and that together, and decided to put me where the dogs
wouldn't bite me.

"I appeared as calm as I could, and set the example since followed by
politicians, that of 'dignified silence.' Kelly tried to work one of the
'fellow convict' rackets on me, but I made no confessions. I soon became
a martyr, in the eyes of the women of the town. You boys got to talking
of backing up a suit for false imprisonment; election was coming on and
the sheriff and county judge were getting uneasy, and the district
attorney was awfully unhappy, so they let me out.

"Nixon, the sheriff, pumped me slyly, to see what effect my imprisonment
would have on future operations, and I told him I didn't propose to lose
any time over it, and agreed to drop the matter for a little nest-egg
equal to the highest pay received by any engineer on the road. Pat
Dailey was the worst hog for overtime, and I selected his pay as the
standard and took big money,--from the campaign funds. I wasn't afraid
of re-arrest;--I had 'em for bribery.

"Whilst I was in hock, I had cold chills every time I heard the 313's
whistle,